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t m c » p u l s e | m a r c h 2 0 1 8 37 Livia Schiavinato Eberlin, Ph.D., chemistry professor at The University of Texas at Austin, led a team of scientists and engineers in developing a tool for identifying cancer during surgery. engineers from UT Austin, Baylor and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Led by Eberlin, the team has demonstrated that the pen diagnoses cancer in live, tumor-bearing mice during surgery without causing any observ- able harm to the tissue or stress to the animals. "We anticipate certain lesions will be 90 to 95 percent probable of a tissue diagnosis, but we want to give a more precise diagnosis," Suliburk said. "Our goal is to be more than 95 percent accurate." The team is now refining the MasSpec Pen so it can read samples placed on microscope slides. Suliburk expects to start testing the MasSpec Pen during oncologic surgeries this spring. The team hopes the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will approve the pen as a medical diagnostic. "Dr. Eberlin and I both feel strongly that it will improve the care of the patient and revolutionize how we perform surgery," Suliburk said. "Any time you can perform a more precise, safer surgery, it's a win for the patients and results in better outcomes." Credit: Wyatt McSpadden/University of Texas at Austin Facing Page Credit: Vivian Abagiu/University of Texas at Austin 281-883-5508 ICONHOSPITALONLINE.COM 19211 McKay Drive, Humble, Texas 77338 PROUDLY SERVICING THE TEXAS MEDICAL CENTER AND GREATER HOUSTON Buying a house can be a minefield. JustBuyersHouston.com 7 1 3 . 2 9 9 . 11 5 6 Don't get blown up. I'm on your side. You can count on it. Judy Thompson • Just Buyers Houston